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Forest Service closes 4 areas in Boulder County foothills to target shooting

By Charlie Brennan

Camera Staff Writer

Posted:
05/08/2014 08:49:41 PM MDT

Updated:
05/08/2014 08:54:31 PM MDT

Map of closures

U.S. Forest Service flood-related shooting closures

James Canyon: National forest land a quarter-mile on either side of James Canyon Drive from U.S. 36 to Colo. 72

Lefthand Canyon: National forest land a quarter-mile on either side of Lefthand Canyon from the intersection of county roads 94 and 81 west to Colo. 72

Mount Alto: National forest land from County Road 106 south to County Road 93 in the Mount Alto Picnic Area and Lookout Rock Area

Sugarloaf: National forest land from County Road 96 south to County Road 120J in the Sugarloaf area containing the Forest System Road 237 and its associated road network

The U.S. Forest Service announced Thursday that four areas in the Boulder County foothills will be temporarily closed to recreational sports shooting, effective Saturday, due to safety concerns linked to flood damage.

The sites within the Boulder Ranger District subject to the new closure order are in the areas of Sugarloaf Mountain, Lefthand Canyon, James Canyon and Mount Alto and comprise 5,976 acres of Forest Service land.

The announcement comes little more than a week after the Boulder County commissioners sent the Forest Service a letter requesting closure to recreational shooting along the Switzerland Trail and to the west of Sugarloaf Mountain Open Space.

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And, on Sunday, the 4-acre Peewink Fire was triggered on forest land a mile east of Sugarloaf Road off Forest Service Road 332, by what the federal agency determined was an exploding target used by recreational shooters. Such devices are not permitted for use as targets on Forest Service property.

The area of the Peewink Fire, however, is not included in the closures announced Thursday.

'No longer safe for them to shoot'

Boulder District Ranger Sylvia Clark said areas targeted by the new closure order have seen an influx of recreational shooters who lost their previous preferred target ranges due to flood damage repair.

Most significant in displacing recreational shooters has been the closure of Lefthand Canyon, which has been broadly restricted since the flood. But even before the flood, about 30 acres at the entrance to its off-highway vehicle area was closed to gun enthusiasts due to safety concerns in April 2010. That closure was renewed in December 2012.

"As a result of flood damage and work being done for flood recovery, the displacement of people that were recreationally shooting in those (previous) closure areas are now concentrating in areas that are closer to private lands, forest trails and forest roads," Clark said. "And there was enough displacement that it is no longer safe for them to shoot in those areas they are being displaced to."

Clark said the closures will remain in place "until they are rescinded," which will likely be through 2014, and possibly through the summer of 2015.

Boulder County commissioners' deputy Michelle Krezek saw the notice of the closures late Thursday and said, "We very much welcome the Forest Service taking the steps to do these closures because these are all areas where we have seen impacts from recreational shooting, especially those areas where we're doing flood recovery work. So that's great."

Referring specifically to the Sugarloaf closure area, Krezek said, "It doesn't look like it's as large as what we proposed, but again, we welcome and applaud the Forest Service for quickly taking action where there have been conflicts."

Working toward a regional fix

Meanwhile, a broader effort to establish additional safe recreational shooting options in the area continues. Last June, Boulder County entered into the Northern Colorado Front Range Sports Shooting Management Partnership along with the Forest Service, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Gilpin and Clear Creek counties.

Steve Yamashita, northeast regional manager for Parks and Wildlife, said that process is "moving slowly, but understandably."

"The shooting range issue is that we've got people shooting everywhere," Yamashita said. "It's not just a public lands issue, it's not just a private lands issue; it's an everybody issue. What we want to see is the opening of (new) designated areas for shooting before we close areas."

Clark said the Forest Service has completed an environmental assessment on a proposed Boulder County site on Forest Service land for recreational shooting but is not yet advancing it as a candidate.

"We are waiting for the collaborative to complete its work and identify other sites across the landscape that may be better suited as designated shooting locations," Clark said.

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